Impact assessment for evidence-based policy and practice
The Innovation for Integration programme aims to develop
evidence-based practices that address the needs of unaccompanied
and separated children in the areas of education, employment,
social networks and legal rights. To achieve this goal, Reach for
Change has developed an evaluation framework with tools for mon-
itoring project activities and measuring impact on young people. As
the practices are all relatively new, their outcomes and impact have
yet to be determined.
Delays in identifying durable solutions
One of the main challenges faced by the Innovation for Integration
programme is working around the limitations of the current nation-
al legal and policy framework which may impede the integration of
unaccompanied and separated children arriving in Sweden. Delays
in finding durable solutions for these children result in prolonged
periods of legal uncertainty and missed opportunities and compro-
mise any efforts to engage unaccompanied and separated children
and young people in activities that require long-term planning.
Legal uncertainty and the fear of deportation affect children’s
mental health and push many of them to leave the care system.
The integration of children who do not have a permanent resi-
dence permit is given lower priority by the authorities and service
providers than other, more urgent issues related to their asylum
applications and the risk of deportation.
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